Catholic Near East Welfare Association

Catholic Near East Welfare Association
AbbreviationCNEWA
Established11 March 1926
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit charity
StatusActive
HeadquartersNew York City
PresidentMsgr. Peter Vaccari
Board ChairCardinal Timothy M. Dolan
Revenue$26,275,011 (2019) [1]
Websitecnewa.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (abbreviated CNEWA, pronounced "k-NAY-wah" /kneɪwɑː/) is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India.[2] CNEWA operates specifically in areas of concentrated mass poverty, war, and displacement, providing human dignity and addressing basic needs for vulnerable populations. As a Catholic organization CNEWA utilizes the network of Eastern Catholic Churches and devoted religious sisters to provide the most effective and holistic humanitarian support regardless of creed or religious affiliation.[3] As sisters with CNEWA have stated, "We don't help people because they're Christian. We help [them] because we are."[4]

CNEWA's regional offices employ locals who collaborate with local churches and Christian institutions to identify needs and implement solutions as a means of 'working from the ground up.' CNEWA has held a presence in areas that have been recently volatile, such as Syria, Iraq and Palestine, and its operations respond rapidly to the constantly-shifting needs of the people.[5] CNEWA provides 86.9% of its funds raised for programmatic support.

In June 2011, Monsignor John E. Kozar was appointed President of CNEWA and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine by Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. The appointment was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2011. Kozar retired in June 2020 and was succeeded by Msgr. Peter Vaccari, as president of CNEWA/PMP.[6] The headquarters of CNEWA are in New York City. In summer 2023, CNEWA reopened its office in Rome in the building that houses the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.[7]

  1. ^ "Financial Statements". www.cnewa.org. 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  2. ^ "Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) | Devex". www.devex.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  3. ^ "Catholic Near East Welfare Association – Idealist". www.idealist.org. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  4. ^ "The CNEWA Story". Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  5. ^ Duncan, Don (Summer 2015). "Grace". ONE.
  6. ^ Chicoine, Christie L. "Msgr. John Kozar Reflects on CNEWA Presidency as Retirement Nears". Catholic New York.
  7. ^ "CNEWA Reinvigorates Its Presence in Rome". CNEWA. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 2024-10-07.